Still in Bonny Scotland ...

Still here ... only just! We have booked our flights 'home' for Monday (30th March) from Aberdeen. So we will have been home for around 6 weeks altogether.

We are sure that we made the right decision and we have been able to spend a lot of time with David & Wilma up in Wick. David had his 3rd chemo last Friday in Inverness and is learning to rest and not push himself too hard between treatments (not easy for us men!) The great news is that he gets his next one in Wick - so no 9 hour round trip by train. This has given him a real boost. But I think the greatest boost is to see Lydia & Josiah with him for a while ... they have been really good children. We were able to celebrate David's 66th Birthday last week (below).


It is always sad to say goodbye but our plan is to come home for itinerary next March, so it won't be long until everyone sees us again! Don't know if this is good or bad!!! We have been able to see almost all of our friends in the last few weeks, even our lovely friends down in the Central Belt.

Also been able to do quite a bit of ministry over here in many churches. I felt that the message God gave me was to 'look up and see the harvest'. I am preaching at New Hope, Peterhead on Sunday morning and I feel it will be a significant day. Pastor Neil Cameron and his team are doing great and I went there last Sunday night ... place was packed. On Sunday night we will be at Fraserburgh Elim but I will pop up to AoG to say goodbye to all our friends there.

I leave you with a new link from one of our churches in the Philippines. It is San Isidro and they have started a new blog. I apologise on behalf of all the other blogs, I don't know what has happened to the Pastors over there! When I get back i will try and inspire them to blog. I think the internet connection has been off for nearly a fortnight, to be fair.

But check this blog by Pastor Alex Ritua regarding San Isidro - it's encouraging! http://www.ccsi-online.blogspot.com

Don't worry ... we are still experiencing Filipino life over here! I can park my car down the harbour and within 5 minutes of saying 'Kumusta' to a Filipino fisherman (there are around 300 here!) there will be a crowd of Filipinos everywhere! Even in Wick, we bumped into a few in Tescos ... and took them out for a coffee (below)


Be blessed. Will blog soon ...

Back Home

Sorry for the lack of blogs recently. So many things have been happening in the last few weeks and we are just catching up with ourselves! The main reason we are back in Scotland is because Mary's dad - David - was diagnosed with a serious strain of cancer and we decided to come home to spend time with Mary's parents and help them at this difficult time.

We only had a few days to get things sorted out at Sefton. I think Mary and I had around 20 meetings with people in a couple of days. The great thing is that Keith & Anne are still there and will return to UK in April 7th. Matthew & Claire are also there, so we decided that we had a window of opportunity to come home ... and we did. We only have one life and we are often faces with difficult decisions ... but I often preach that 'people are more important than things." No regrets.

We arrived back to cold & snowy Scotland on February 13th. We spent the first weekend in Fraserburgh and had the opportunity to attend the Dedication of our wee niece Eve (Mary's brother's girl) This was a real unexpected bonus!


We then went up to Wick and were there for almost two weeks. David was diagnosed at the beginning of February and then immediately started his first treatment of chemo. Many are praying for him ... and we are seeing the results of prayer. He reacted very well to the fist treatment and felt much stronger. The pain in his hip went and he was able to walk and even drive. This gave him a real boost. We had a great time as a family, with the kids, and that alone was worth the air fare!

We drove him down for his second chemo two weeks ago and then I took the kids down to Fraserburgh to give David & Wilma some peace! Again, David reacted so well with the chemo. Mary stayed in Wick for a few days and then joined us in Fraserburgh. We stayed there over last weekend and I was able to minister in Elim and Emmanuel churches in Fraserburgh. Really enjoyed it!

We needed to get away as a family and we managed to book into a fantastic place called Crieff Hydro. All you Scottish people ... you need to come here! Amazing. Whatever the age you are ... there is something for you to do. It has definitely the best kids facilities in any hotel I have ever been to. Today, the kids went swimming twice, went to soft play, went to the outdoor adventure playground, ate at the amazing 'Kidz Buffet (with tons of good food and also Angel Delight etc!) and tonight they spent 2 hours at the Kids Club - completely supervised by staff. This is all free as part of your accommodation! Josiah told me that "it was the best day of his life!" If you don't believe me ... believe him!


We are going down to the Central Belt on Thursday to visit some friends down there. We will go back up to Fraserburgh on Saturday (I will be preaching at Fraserburgh AoG on Sunday) and then on to Wick Monday. And then ... we'll take it from there!

At the beginning of the year we were given a word from a good friend -"Take one day at a time." We didn't understand it then,but we do now! David gets his 3rd Chemo on Friday March 20th and we are praying for continued strength. If he does well we will plan to go back to the Philippines on the last week of March.

Pray for us as we learn to draw from God enough grace as we need for each day. Pray that we would do the right thing and not be impulsive in our decisions. Pray most of all for David as he journeys through these difficult days. For Wilma, as she supports him and tries to maintain her life. For Mary, as she tries to help her mum & dad at this time. It's not easy and she wants to do the best. For the kids, as they adjust to moving around and meeting new people. they are amazing really! For all at Sefton, as they have to adjust to us not being there.

Thanks for your love and encouragement at this time. Will keep you posted on any news.

Many blessings,

Mark

Home Sweet Home

In September I had the privilege of coming home to UK for almost a month. I attended a Bible School Director's Conference in Singapore and then headed to Scotland from there. Mary & the kids had to stay at home because of schooling etc. So I took this once-in-a lifetime-opportunity to bring 4 of my Pastors with me - Winston Bao-in, Marlou Javier, James Aquino and August Manio (chickenpox and all!!)

The main reason for me coming home was to minister at Rotherham New Life's Missions Weekend - If Not Now When ... To Boldly Go. More about that later!

The majority if my time was spent in the NE Scotland. My mum flew out to Sefton whilst I was in UK and I came back to Philippines with my dad. So proud of my mum .. 7 weeks in the Phiippines in the roasting heat and no dad to keep her right!! Well done mum ... knew you could do it! Women power!

The first couple of weeks were jam packed - me and the guys speaking in so many churches, youth groups, children's clubs, Sunnybrae ... you name it! In between we did brilliant things ... fishing in a wee boatie Gamrie (unforgetttable!), going to see Aberdeen at Pittodrie (very forgettable!!) and a lot of other exciting things.

Best things was meeting up with my family and friends again. Brilliant. Met so many people - every day we were booked for lunch AND evening meals at friend's homes. Scottish people are the most lovely, kind, hospitable and generous folk. Highlight was seeing - for the first time - my new little niece Eve Flett. She is a smasher! Mary's brother Bruce and his wife Alison have been given a most precious gift. Thank you Lord.


Also had the great On Sundays we were pretty busy in the churches. So many churches. My Filipino Pastors loved it! We also had two 100% Filipino services for the Filipino fishermen in Fraserburgh. I preached at Fraserburgh AoG, New Hope Peterhead, Elim Fraserburgh, Calvary Fraserburgh and also at Kings Church in Aberdeen. Must say that we saw the Lord move in all of these services. Even met John Knox (below!)


Another highlight for me was the opportunity to preach at my best friend Ben's induction service. What a great night! So many folk from so many churches ... way it should be! Had the honour of preaching at Zion Church in Peterhead and baptising a really special guy called Peter Strachan. Memories. Especially the homebakes ... MMMMmmmm.


We travelled up to Wick with the guys to see Mary's mum & dad and all our friends up there. Beautiful journey up the coast. So wonderful to see my outlaws ... sorry inlaws ... again. They looked after us so well. They are really special and I admire them so much for the amazing way they handle the fact that we, including their grandkids, are so far away so often. This is the hardest part of being a missionary. Not only do we pay the cost ... they pay it much more. This is the greatest sacrifice. They are my heroes.

We spoke at the Over 60's in the Salvation Army and Marlou gave a presentation about 'Life in the Philippines'. I challenged them to think of some questions for Marlou and one lady, whom I know very well, shouted out (in broad Caithness) "How dye cook yir chikin?" We laughed about that all the way to Edinburgh! Folk in Wick like to get their oriental chicken recipes! We went to Edinburgh for a couple of nights. We walked the Royal Mile (with only my T-shirt because I left my jacket in Fraserburgh!) saw the castle and drove along Princes Street. It really is THE most beautiful City in the World. At night we had an went to amazing Korma with my friends Jenny & David. What a day! Getting tired now! Been round Scotland in thirty minutes. Next blog will be about our time in England.

Until then ... Be good and live the dream!

Dinna Worry Aunty Betty ....

Calm doon Aunty Betty ... wir still alive!

My aunty Betty has told my mum and dad over the last few weeks, "Mark & Mary are still in Wick!" She is of course, referring that we haven't updated our blog for, well, a good while! And she's absolutely right! Sorry Aunty Betty, I know you check our blog every night for any news from your handsome nephew in Sefton ... but tonight ... be very shocked and delighted ...we're back!

When we were in UK we were chock a block visiting family, friends, youth groups, kids clubs, churches etc. etc. Before we knew it time was up! And hardly a blog to note. Well, suppose that the only consolation for Aunty Betty, Aunty Helen and all the rest of our devoted readers is that it is far better to see us for real rather than read a blog! That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!

We had a busy but great time in UK. We have a lot of thanks to give to a lot of people for their part in helping us enjoy a good month at home:

Mum & dad ... for putting us up and putting up with us! Thanks for looking after our kids for almost a week and for all your love and care. Was great to see my dad has been converted after many years ... no, don't misunderstand. I mean from a PC to a Mac! Only problem was that our diary was so full that I didn't have enough time to show him the way around his Leopard! Sorry dad!

David & Wilma Flett - for looking after us and letting us rest after a really busy time. For all your lovely hospitality and for driving all the way to Aberdeen to say goodbye. It meant so much to us all.

David & Grace Strachan & family - for all your practical love and support in so many ways. For letting us use your car for a whole month .. even though it meant Grace walking to work and being accosted by a complete stranger!! You guys are the best and your kids are fantastic. Thanks for the mega thick mega delicious hand made steak David .... look out Jamie Oliver! MMmmmm....

My brothers and their families ... so great to see Paul & David going on for God and inspiring their families to live for God. Lydia & Josiah's cousins are brilliant - Nathan, Aaron, Bethany, Daniel and our new wee addition to the Ritchie clan ...David. Wonderful to spend time with you all again and catch up. It was great for me to beat David again at the putting green ... Neil & Gavin were there to witness the great event!

Mary's brother Bruce and his wife Alison - We saw them a number of times and it was so good to see them preparing for being first time parents. We had great times with them. Congratulations are in order ... Alison gave birth to wee Eve last week! Missed her by a few days ... we did try all sorts of ways to speed up the process but to no avail.

Family members - Wow, saw so many in such a short time! Great to see most of my aunties & uncles as well as a lot of my cousins. Had an amazing meal with freshly caught prawns at my cousin Liz's house...thanks John! Especially great to see my cousin Shona and her family. We even saw my cousin George and family. What a guy!

Friends - too many to mention all by name but great to see Kenny & Suzie (I am still the PS2 Tiger Woods champ Kenny!), David & Jenny, Lesley & Stewart, Andrew & Lois, Norman & Gillian, Micheal & Alison (great night guys), Gareth & Shona, of course Vivien (my adopted Scottish daughter), Ben & Val (great time at Findlay's Ben), Derek & Jacinth, Victor & Alison, Steve & Molly, all the Aberdeen Missions team ... and tons and tons of friends from so many churches. We loved seeing you all.

Special thanks to Jennie Milne who often came and whisked Josiah away to her house so her son Seth and Josiah could play together. They are good pals now! I don't know how you do it Jennie ... 9 kids and still room for my two! Supermum of the year I think! You are a blessing .. especially to Mary. Thanks.

Special thanks also to Andy & Rachel David from Torquay who blessed us with a trip down to the west country to be with them for a few days (even though they were going on a 2 week trip to Africa the same day as we left!!) You are mad ... but we love you!

Even though we were not really prepared for sharing in churches, we thank the Lord for opportunities to minister in Torquay, Whitburn, Fraserburgh Elim, Fraserburgh AoG, Kings Church Aberdeen. We loved being with you all and pray that in some way we challenged and encouraged you. We had a great time in various youth & children's clubs - Salvation Army Jam Club in Wick, Powerhouse Kids Club, Calvary Kidz and GLO in Fraserburgh as well as the AoG Youth Cafe night. I also had an amazing time ministering at the Teen Challenge Centre at Sunnybrae ... what a morning! Gordon, Paul, Kenny & team are doing a fantastic work there.

Mmmm ... anyone else I have left out? If I have I apologise.

Well, we are back in sunny and roasting hot Santiago. Since coming home it has been quite difficult in so many ways. The kids took a week to get back to Filipino time ... they were going to sleep around midnight or 1am some nights! They have both been sick with fevers, diarrhea and sickness. Last week we were ultra busy as there was an SBTC Week of Refreshing for all students and ex-students. Last Friday we had a great Graduation Service for the students. Last Saturday we baptised 11 new believers from our Cornerstone Churches. One of them was the dad of Gio, the boy who died. When I asked him, "Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?" He immediately replied with tears in his eyes, "With all my heart." the hand of the Lord is upon Gilbert.

Our Internet was on for one night when we came home and then we had a lightning storm. It completely blew my other computer and destroyed the internet cable. It has taken 10 days to fix! But tonight it returned ...what a relief! Hopfully now I can start to blog and let you catch up with all the Sefton news. So many great things happening here.

A funny story to end with. Lydia was working things out the other night as we prepared them for bed -" Mummy, is Jesus in charge of our family?" Mary replied, "Yes, of course." Lydia continued, "And then, is it Daddy that's the boss?" Mary replied again, "That's right Lydia"

A few seconds later Josiah stands up and said with a stronng teachers voice, "Well, Jesus says that Josiah-has-not-got-to-have-a-bath-tonight! And... he-needs-to-watch-cartoon-network ... OK?"

What could I say after that?

Goodnight Aunty Betty ... sweet dreams i'nicht!

Take The High Road ...

So much has happened since I last blogged. I am feeling a bit rough - check out what I look like in the cartoon above ha ha! I am writing this blog from the beautifully cold town of Wick ... the hometown of Mary and the Flett clan! Yup, we are home now!

I am determined to write number of blogs this week informing you of the happenings at Sefton Village over the last few weeks. As you know, we had a team from Mattersey here and a week after they went home we hosted another team from Aberdeen AoG. We had a really fruitful time with them ... I will let you know about their trip tomorrow.

We had a nightmare trip home. Two hours in the check in counter and two hours on the tarmac in the plane! AAaagggghhh.... So hard for our two wee ones. We chased our tails all the way across the world and just made it on to the plane at Heathrow. Unfortunately, our trip to Terminal 5 lived up to its reputation! We are still waiting for one case to arrive!

We arrived back in Scotland on Friday ... FREEZIN! Ouch! People had told us it had been 23 degrees ..until Friday! What's going on?! Come on ... let's get some heat in this country! We had a great weekend with my family. So brilliant to meet my new little nephew David - a wee cutie! Great to catch up wit the Ritchie clan again.

On Sunday we went to Elim in morning and our friends Charlie & Chrissie shared about their recent trip to India. It was lovely to catch up with all our friends there. At night we went to Fraserburgh AoG where we met some old friends again. Brilliant day.

We took the road north to Wick yesterday. It is an absolute pleasure to drive on Scottish roads. I love it! So smooth and the scenery is breathtaking. And surprisingly there are no dogs, chickens, tricyles, jeepnies or clapped out buses on the road! Heaven...

It is wonderful for our kids to meet all their grannies, grandas, aunties, uncles and cousins again! It makes the trip worth it.

So I'm off to bed now. I have a really sore right ear but I think I will live! Blog soon ...

Sleep well ...

Touching Base!

Hi folks. Well, as promised, here is a few recent 'catch up' news items from Sefton Village.

* Visit of my family!
We had a great time with my family. Mum, Dad, Paul, Ashley, Nathan & Aaron all came to Sefton ... along with Monica Jack (my cousin's wife). We had a good mixture of mission/ministry along with some good old family time.

I am so proud of Paul & Ashley for bringing the boys here. They will never forget their trip I am sure. The boys made a great friendship with Pepito and it was a very sad day when they left.

Dad & Paul did a lot of preaching and sharing in the churches and at the Bible School. Monica sang every day I think ... in the churches, hospital, jail, Fire Centre etc. She went home hoarse ... but happy!

We loved having the gang here. It was great for Mary to have Mum, Ashley and Monica here. They enjoyed a good blether over a cup of tea on many occasion. We will never forget their visit.


* Visit of Dave & Madeline Russon from AoG World Ministries
The day we said goodbye to my family was the same day as we said 'Hi' to Dave & Madeline. We drove with them up to Sefton Village where they spent 6 great days with us. They spent individual time with all three families at Sefton ... and we ate so much along the way!

Dave and Madeline also ministered a lot - in the hospital, jail, st a Youth Camp and also at Cornerstone Utd. on the Sunday. Dave's message was spot on ... we need to sow our seed on fertile ground which the Lord will show us.

Their visit was a great blessing to us as a family. They encouraged us so much and we know that they are right behind us as a family and also the ministry at Sefton Village. Their counsel and advice was wise and we felt the benefit of their long journey here. Lydia and Josiah thought the world of them and Madeline was great with them. Madeline and Lydia still keep contact via text (and I'm not joking!)

* Visit of Gillian Saunders
Two weeks ago we had the blessing of having Gillian stay with us for 6 days. She is truly a friend of Sefton Village and she has visited us many times before. She has really helped Pastor Jun set up Powerhouse Kids Club and she was able to bring advice and wisdom to the team again.

It was good to see here again .., it was 2 years since we last saw each other. Unbelievable! Again we had lovely times of recollection as well as planning ahead. We took Gillian 3 times to the new Italian Restaurant in Santiago ... the owner is an Italian and he was amazed at the way Gillian spoke fluent Italian (without an English Accent!!) The food was authentic too by the way!

* The Pointon & Kerr families
Keith and Anne are doing well and have found their niche here at Sefton. Keith is doing a great work with the Cornerstone Pastors and runs a cell group for them every week. He is also very involved with the Bible School where he teaches various subjects, including English. He also preaches around the Cornerstone Churches every week and has a real burden for a German inmate at the local jail.

Anne is also doing great. She teaches English every day at the pre-school as well as teaching English once a week at the Bible School. She also is getting very involved in the Children's Home now and helping Mary a lot.

The Kerr family are adjusting to Filipino life .. not easy I can tell you! Their house is looking lovely and lots of their bits and pieces have arrived from UK. Madeline has been going to school for the last couple of months and is making some friends. Pray for her as it is not easy. She and Lydia are always together ... either best friends or best enemies! Usually you can find them dressing up, playing school, splashing in water somewhere or pasting on make up! Ariella is just beautiful and always has a smile for Uncle Mark.


Matthew is finding out what the Lord wants for him here. There are many avenues where he, and myself, feel he can really help us. He is going to take charge of all visitors and missions teams that come to Sefton Village. He will be in charge of Maintenance at Sefton and will be team leader to Heny, Jonathan & Edward. He will also be in charge of building projects in the future. He has a burden to help in the ministries in the Fire Centre and he will be responsible for the PE for the Bible Students every Wednesday afternoon. He will also be in charge of organising the Cornerstone pastors. Someone said that trying to organise pastors is like trying to herd cats! Matthew will also be helping is in the 'tecky' side, hopefully getting a website up and running at some point. So he will be a busy man!

Claire is finding her feet as a teacher in the pre-school. Things are a bit different here and it takes time to get behind life here. Claire has been spending a lot of time at KMGLC and has been getting to know the teachers. She will be responsible for the Christmas Program at the school this year and Mary says she has lot of good ideas! Mary and Claire are also spending time getting the plans and ideas for the new Elementary School organised. We are hoping to have grades 1-4 by June next year and there is much to do. Pray for them as they work out the way ahead.

Check out their blog for more news from Sefton - www.leekerr.co.uk

This blog is long enough already and my fingers are getting sore! I will blog about the following soon:

* Fantastic ministry opportunity at the hospital
* Nagassican feeding program for malnourished kids
* FEBC Update
* August Manio
* Great opportunities to minister to thousands in Santiago
* New kids in Children's Home

I am going to blog about the challenges of being good parents this week, so to bless you I have put a video of wee Josiah singing the grace this morning. He's a wee peep! Enjoy!